Man asked 'kind' boy who went to his aid for sex
Northumbria PoliceAn "upset" man who asked a 15-year-old boy for sex after the "kind" youth went to check he was alright has been jailed for three years.
The victim was on his way home from school when he saw Richard Henderson was agitated after an altercation with youths at Morpeth Bus Station, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
When the concerned boy went to see if Henderson needed help, the 67-year-old propositioned him for sex, the court heard.
Henderson, who previously caused more than £100,000 damage to a church, denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Henderson, from Warkworth, had had a dispute with a group of youths who were totally unconnected to the victim, prosecutor Liam O'Brien said.
The boy saw Henderson was "upset" so "approached to ask if he was alright", the court heard.
The pair struck up a conversation which Henderson quickly turned sexual and ended by asking the boy if he wanted to have sex with him, the court heard.
'Out of kindness'
The boy was immediately "anxious and upset" and left, telling his mother later that night what had happened, the court heard.
In a statement read to the court, the youth said he was an "innocent kid" who "just wanted to get the bus home", but had been left "intimidated and scared" by Henderson's advances.
He said he could no longer get the bus or ask anyone how they felt as he had been "traumatised" by Henderson's actions.
The court heard Henderson had 40 offences on his record, including for criminal damage caused at Warkworth Church for which was given a suspended sentence in December 2024.
Judge Gavin Doig said the boy had approached Henderson "out of kindness" and Henderson turned matters sexual.
He said Henderson claimed the boy had been lying about the encounter, but "the only person lying" was the defendant.
Henderson was also ordered to sign the sex offender register and comply with a sexual harm prevention order for the rest of his life.